


the last prince's first bodyguard

by caesarions



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Drunken Shenanigans, Family Drama, Horseback Riding, Love Confessions, M/M, Picnics, Protectiveness, Red-Purple Hawke, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-16 21:40:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17553704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caesarions/pseuds/caesarions
Summary: Bodyguards usually dislike surprises of any kind, but in Garrett's experience, they have all worked out. So why should Sebastian's surprise for Garrett after his first birthday as the ruling prince be any different?Any multitude of factors is why, but feelings most of all.





	1. the years before

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cullenlovesmen (handersmyheart)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/handersmyheart/gifts).



> @cullenlovesmen was very nice on my first dragon age fic, so i asked her for any requests, which included more sebhawke and the prompt 'blue skies'. at the same time, my friend wanted me to write a scene from this au that we were cooking up. so two birds one stone am i right ladies
> 
> the basics: takes place in (mostly canon) thedas, the hawkes flee to starkhaven instead of kirkwall, the vael parents hire garrett as a no name shitty bodyguard to make fun of sebastian, but it backfires spectacularly because they get along super well. this does coincide with sebastian's disaster hoe phase. but the other vaels get assassinated before they can even think about the chantry, so sebastian learns how to be a functioning human being in much healthier surroundings.
> 
> i want to raise the other vaels from the dead and kill them a second time
> 
> anyway, please enjoy! (-:

The honeyed light peeking through the curtains—the only welcome witness—was almost saccharine, quite rare for rainy Starkhaven indeed. So too was the sight of Sebastian curled up on Garrett’s chest.

It was only natural, Garrett reminded himself. The drink had flowed freely for Sebastian’s first birthday as the ruling prince. After all those years of sitting sober in the shadows of seedy pubs and carefully watching Sebastian, Garrett had finally joined in. (Bethany had been the first to comment on how Garrett watched Sebastian, not the room. _Staring at the back of Sebastian’s head like it was the second coming of Andraste_ , were her exact words. He was simultaneously the worst and best bodyguard in all of the Free Marches.)

It was only natural that they ended up in a compromising position in Sebastian’s bedchambers. Before climbing under the covers, the pair barely had the wherewithal to remove their shoes and Sebastian’s crown, which dangled precariously off of the side table. He reached over to lay the golden circlet flat on the wood without disturbing Sebastian.

However, the warm moment could not last forever. When Garrett finally peeled both eyes open, he blinked in surprise at the intensity of the light. Though not fervently religious, he sent a prayer to the Maker to forgive his greatest sin of all. He gently peeled Sebastian off of him, whose grip was surprisingly strong from years of pulling back longbows. When a dozing Sebastian still held onto his bodyguard’s shirt and his brows furled, Garrett stroked the prince’s back until he relaxed. Playing with his hair would have accomplished that faster, but Garrett had not allowed himself that luxury yet.

After tiptoeing—though Garrett’s tiptoe sounded like a normal man’s walk—across the marble floor, Garrett stuck his head through the crimson curtains. He risked his own migraine as to not wake Sebastian. And as expected, the sun had soared high into the blue sky, though no one had come to collect the prince that had slept half the day away. Garrett began to bristle like the days of old until he heard a yawn.

Despite all his precautions, the bed was missing its human furnace, so Sebastian still awoke. Garrett turned to see the prince rubbing his eyes and asked gently, “Do you know how late it is?”

“With how much we drank and made merry, I would sure hope so,” Sebastian huffed. In Garrett’s absence, he sat up and pulled the covers around himself. “My last birthday present to myself is that today is a free day. No one is to bother us.”

_Us_.

“How did you manage to swing that?” Garrett laughed and relaxed, if it was by Sebastian’s design. He then pulled open the curtains to let in the sunshine, which colored Sebastian’s already tan skin like a comforting black tea.

Resting his chin on his folded knees, the prince smiled. “It was easier than you think. I will not have any real responsibilities for quite some time.”

If it could be forever, Garrett would will it. But his statement rang true—his only two acts so far had been to move Garrett’s family into the palace and to adopt a dog, both of which he had begged of his parents for years, anyway.

“We’re not using it to sleep, are we?” the bodyguard jested.

It was only natural that they did not discuss the obvious. It was merely a step up from Sebastian sleeping with one of Garrett’s cloaks, which Garrett knew the prince did from time to time—because he himself provided the new cloaks whenever they stopped smelling like him. It was the least he could do after the first time he had found Sebastian like that.

“Only if you want to,” Sebastian laughed in turn. “But I was hoping that we could go riding like the old days.”

Even as his head throbbed, Garrett’s expression softened. “Of course, Sebastian.”

After all, it was time they had reclaimed and repurposed together.

The first time, Garrett had been on leave visiting his family, for just one fateful weekend. Perhaps the Vaels had planned it all along, just as they had hired him as a jest until Sebastian began to turn to his lowborn, refugee retainer before his family. Garrett ruined everything, as he always did in their eyes.

He had returned early to find his prince missing, even though the Starkhaven palace was holding a ball. When he passed Sebastian’s chambers the third time, he finally heard the muffled crying. Garrett did what any good man would do and broke down the door keeping him from Sebastian. Revealed to him was the prince lying with one of Garrett’s cloaks borrowed from an impulsive round of nighttime skinny dipping together in the lakes beyond the city.

He saw a red deeper than the curtains.

Though Garrett’s outrage was in the right, rebuking the other Vaels would end in exile at best and execution at worst. For once in his life, he managed to swallow his pride. Garrett simply asked that, instead of locking him away, Garrett be allowed to take him off of the palace grounds if there was… a function that they did not desire their youngest son to attend.

Sebastian knew of the compromise because his parents would normally never allow such leisure time. He must not have minded the arrangement too much, since he began to spend more and more time alone with Garrett instead of leaving Garrett alone in the pub at the end of the night.

The prince sighed and relaxed, as if Garrett had even denied him anything. “Oh, good, because the preparations should already be complete.”

“Then, we better greet the day!” The bodyguard set his hands on his hips. “Unless you need me to cradle your head as you retch again?”

“Please, Garrett. Not those old days,” Sebastian flushed. “I actually feel better after a night of drinking than I ever have before. I thought for sure that my lapse would make me more susceptible.”

“Time between binges means nothing for those of Starkhaven.” Garrett rubbed at his temples. “But I’m Fereldan.”

As the blush began to leave Sebastian’s gentle cheeks, he chuckled. He hugged his knees and stared at the covers. “Well… We can always nap a bit more before setting out.”

Garrett did not need to be told twice.

  
That explained how the two men barely managed to leave Sebastian’s bedchambers before midday. Even changing out of yesterday’s sticky clothes was lethargic, as if they were swimming through honey.

When the prince and his bodyguard stepped outside, Garrett shielded his eyes with his palm. He watched the sapphire skies, free of clouds, the entire stroll to the stables. Though they would stay out even in Starkhaven’s usual drizzle, the blissful weather was a nice touch.

Perhaps nature was on his side.

To justify their new residence in the palace, the Hawke family members had all taken positions. Carver was the closest to Garrett, becoming a soldier as he had in Ferelden, and he had returned from campaign for Sebastian’s birthday. Leandra supervised the kitchens, so Sebastian had visited her for a bundle of picnic foods tied in a blanket. Bethany tended the animals, and she came into view as they approached the stables.

Hearing the path’s gravel crunching, Bethany looked up. On the opposite side of Sebastian’s white stallion, her face barely peeked over. Still, she waved to them with her brush. “Good m… Well, good afternoon at this point!”

“My apologies, Lady Bethany,” Sebastian smiled. “I did not think to see you still here. Did you have a late start as well?”

“Oh, no, your mounts have been ready for ages.” Bethany continued to brush the horse’s back as she spoke. “I simply stayed and braided their manes because I felt like it.”

Sebastian went around to the other side to observe the ornate hairstyles. “Oh! Well, they look lovely.”

“You truly think so, Lord Sebastian?”

Garrett rolled his eyes. He gave his own ignored black stallion a pat.

She exchanged pleasantries with Sebastian until she was satisfied that she had brushed out a spot that Garrett had never noticed. Then, Bethany continued, “That’s that! I’ll be sure to keep a careful eye on… Bark Lord today.”

When she sighed before saying the dog’s name, Garrett snickered.

“You didn’t have to let Garrett name it,” Bethany heard her brother and protested. “You had already gotten a mabari to make him happy. You’re the prince.”

“I did,” Sebastian argued, though not unkindly. Never so. “I do not wish to be that sort of prince.”

And as a special sort of ruler already, he kissed Bethany’s hand for her service. She chuckled nervously before walking around to jump up on her tiptoes and give Garrett a hug goodbye.

“I swear on the Maker,” Bethany whispered during their embrace, “that if you don’t hurry up, I will stop respecting the fact that you saw him first.”

Garrett huffed, “It’s a work in progress.”

“One years in the making,” she corrected. “I’m just motivating you to confess faster. Don’t let me down.”

She broke the hug before the bodyguard could defend himself.

Having spent the time tying their blanket of food to his saddle, Sebastian only blinked. The sunshine floating in caught in his cheeks, and his eyes matched the heavens just outside. “Are you ready, Garrett?”

For his past, Sebastian could be surprisingly innocent.

  
Horses set to a gallop, the two men easily crested the rocky hills surrounding Starkhaven proper. The path was almost entirely worn down by them alone. Beyond the cloistered city lay an emerald sea of plains that periodically melted into swamps and forests. Grand lakes dotted the land most of all, as if sapphires on a circlet. Today, the fair spring sky rivaled them all.

Garrett and Sebastian’s conversation flowed freely once they left the circle of jutting stones.

Though it was not a hunt, both of them dressed that way, as it was easier to explain. Sebastian had donned his plaids and a quiver of arrows, a familiar sight that made their first hunt fresh in Garrett’s mind. He brought it to light as they spoke, prompting Sebastian to relay his best and worst archery moments in front of his brothers. (In the bodyguard’s humble opinion, all of them should have been impressive, for his older brothers only played at swords—and poorly, for that matter.)

Garrett had a favorite memory, too.

For it, he tilted his horse until they both trotted along a forest’s edge. He kept his eyes focused solely on Sebastian’s lips as the other rambled on—until he felt a familiar thwack.

“Garrett!” With worry in his voice, Sebastian rode up beside him and steadied Garrett’s back. When he spit out a handful of pine needles, Sebastian’s eyes sparkled as he began to laugh. “Oh, Garrett.”

Garrett pushed the low-hanging branch out of the way as they rode on. “You remember that too?”

On that fateful first hunt, Garrett had not yet learned how to handle balancing on a horse while keeping his eyes fixed firmly on Sebastian. A stray birch that had not even registered in his vision sent him tumbling off of his mount. When Sebastian jumped to his rescue, they ended up rolling from laughter on the forest floor.

“Of course! It was very funny, but don’t hurt yourself,” Sebastian chided, though a mischievous smile remained. He finally removed his hand from Garrett’s back. “Were you not embarrassed?”

The bodyguard shook his head. “It was better that they underestimated me.”

Whatever others thought his job to be, Garrett knew it to be keeping Sebastian happy.

For even that memory, which had every right to be the pinnacle of happiness, was tainted by encroaching dark tendrils. The rest of the party had stood around in silent judgment, an older brother commenting only on the grass stains on Sebastian’s white socks.

Garrett much preferred when they went riding alone, but the situation was a double-edged sword. That meant Sebastian was in hot water or unwelcome in another one of the family’s affairs, so Garrett’s pleasure in being together caused an equal pang of guilt. On the other hand, only their lone excursions saved Sebastian from sharing in his the rest of his family’s fate. 

Though Garrett had been the one to hunt down the assassins, privately, he wondered if he did not owe them his thanks. Perhaps they had even been unaware of the Vaels' last son. Garrett had not found the time to ask.

Before he could think on the implications of that, something soft fell onto the top of his head. The bodyguard never wore armor when alone with Sebastian, so Garrett buried a hand in his hair on instinct. “What—!”

Looking around, Garrett half-expected to see an agent of the Maker somewhere among the trees for his thoughts of divine vengeance. However, only an apple with an arrow sticking out laid in the grass.

“Oh, Garrett! I told you to catch it!” Sebastian had ridden up beside Garrett again, anxiety in his brows. At some point, he had gotten out his long bow.

Garrett had missed it all while meandering through his thoughts. At least no pieces of apple remained in his hair. “Don’t worry. That’s on me.”

“Still, my apologies,” the prince mumbled as he dismounted to collect his arrow. He just as quickly whipped around to remount. Garrett almost missed when he added, “...I simply wanted to return the favor.”

Eyes sparkling, the memory returned to Garrett. On their first outing alone together, Sebastian had desired to try new archery targets. He had shot down the reddest apple in the tree and gifted it to Garrett.

“I know exactly what you mean!” Garrett smiled brilliantly. “Well, let’s do it again! I promise to catch this one.”

Garrett always kept his promises.

Their horses raced to another edge of the forest with more apple trees. Garrett balanced on the saddle and held both arms open wide.

“Are you sure you are prepared?” Sebastian asked this time as he reached into his quiver.

The other man pouted. “I have at least a little bit of talent!”

“Oh, you have more than that.” Sebastian covered his smile with his arm-guard.

The first apple fell soundly into Garrett’s palm. For what felt like hours—though it could last a lifetime, and neither man would complain—Garrett ran around collecting fruit in his arms. With the flight of each arrow, so soared their laughter.

Only when Garrett missed the first apple did he stop. He also stopped to catch his breath, but his incessant giggling made that difficult. “Wait, wait, can we even use these? I’d feel bad for wasting them.”

“Well, there are arrows in them,” Sebastian said with a sunny smile, “but I am certain that Lady Leandra would know a recipe that requires many apples.”

“You know, you don’t have to keep calling my family members lords and ladies.” Chuckling, Garrett tried removing the arrows and putting the whole apples in his saddlebag.

One eye on Sebastian, Garrett noticed a flush gracing his cheeks. “It is only proper.”

Considering Kirkwall had rewarded the Amells with noble status once more—now the Hawke-Amells—Sebastian was in the right. Garrett had resolved the assassins in the city quickly and privately only to still be made an example of. Returning to Kirkwall never once crossed the family’s minds, bar planning to update the Amell estate into a vacation home and bring Sebastian along with them.

“Then why don’t you call me anything proper?” Winking, Garrett kept the nicest two apples in his hand.

Sebastian cleared his throat.

“...I lost the skills to be able to turn that into a jest a while ago,” he eventually huffed after a silence that stretched as long as the peridot plains around them. The prince fiddled with putting his longbow away.

Garrett shrugged and tossed the better of the apples to Sebastian. He would have eaten his own if the color did not match so well with the one on his cheeks. “Speaking of Mother, we better get started with the picnic, then. She’ll force-feed the rest if we dare return with leftovers.”

“Certainly, there are worse fates,” Sebastian grinned. There came the unmistakable crunch of a crisp apple. “...Tastes like flint.”

Chuckling once more, Sebastian led the trot down to their secret spot by the biggest lake they had found together. The glassy surface always took on the appearance of the sky above. Today, the waters were pure azure. Not to mention that they seemed to stretch on as long as the sea to Ferelden.

As Sebastian crested the hill, Garrett watched the sunshine flash off of his golden diadem. The royal retainer was almost blinded by its brilliance until they began to descend. At its base laid a great green meadow that hugged this side of the lake.

The two men dismounted. No trees stood nearby to tie the horses to, but they could be trusted to remain. Seeming to remember the area well, they stepped to the lake shore to drink.

So too did their masters. Garrett swore that they used to go riding so often that they had flattened a square of grass with their picnic blanket. No such space existed now that Sebastian had ascended the throne. (Again, that double-edged sword.)

Instead, Garrett flattened a spot along the shore that had the least flowers, as to not hurt their feelings.

“Oh!” Sebastian exclaimed as he began to remove the picnic foods. “This is all so touching. I will have to give my thanks to L— Leandra.”

He pulled out a glut of bright red strawberries and cherries. Leandra had added packed two jars of their favorite jellies as well as chunks of their favorite cheeses. Last came a loaf of bannock bread and a bottle of red wine.

“Of course! She watches what you reach for at dinner.” Flinging the white blanket, Garrett lost sight of Sebastian for a moment. When the prince reappeared, a sunset blush dusted his cheeks. “As for me, I’ll eat anything and everything.”

Laughing, Sebastian said, “Well, someone has to. I always felt like my parents’ noble banquets were quite the waste.”

Garrett pressed his lips together as he smoothed out the blanket.

Surely their fallen fancy cakes had soaked up the crimson blood on that fateful night. It would look no different to if they allowed the wine to spill on the white cloth. Now, Garrett used his dagger to simply cut the bread open.

Humming a Starkhaven folk tune, Sebastian arranged their own personal feast. He had even replaced his core with another apple from Garrett’s saddlebag.

“This is more of a dinner at this point,” the prince observed with a grin. Lying low in the sapphire sky, the sun almost kissed the lake waters. “What shall we eat first?”

“The bread is fresh.” The bodyguard used the same dagger to cover a slice in Sebastian’s jam of choice. When he handed it off, their fingertips brushed.

Sebastian took it with a wry smile. “I could have done that myself.”

“And I could’ve gotten the food for our previous picnics myself.” Sticking out his tongue, Garrett carved his own slice.

“If you stole from the kitchens, you would face certain death. If I did, I would just get more of the same,” the other shrugged, blasé. It would have been a shocking statement to any other, including Garrett at the beginning of his service. “The table scraps were perfectly delicious, since I was sharing them with you.”

His heart caught in his throat as Garrett nicked himself.

Sebastian stopped nibbling his bread to lean forward with wide eyes. “Garrett! Are you alright?”

“...Just peachy.” He wiped his bloody thumb on the grass.

From there, they paired the bread and cheese since it would be the first to spoil. Garrett could even eat one of the apples once his cheeks behaved. He tasted no arrow, only sickly sweetness.

Last came the cornucopia of other crimson fruits. They ate at the same speed that the sun fell from the sky and until their fingers were rosy. Soon, the blue was chased into a small circle above them by a similarly warm sunset.

The drink and conversation flowed freely the entire time. Since they shared the one wine bottle, their lips kissed the same glass. Currently cradling the bottle to his chest, Sebastian let out a yawn.

Whatever Garrett had been saying before, he gaped. “Don’t tell me that you’re tired again!”

“And what of it?” the prince pouted. “One good night’s sleep does not erase months of exhaustion.”

“How about a night and half of the next day, then?” Garrett jested.

Sebastian rubbed at his eyes. “And here I thought that you were on my side.”

“Of course I am.” Taking the wine for himself, Garrett downed the rest of the bottle so he could comfortably set it aside with their other scraps. Then, he folded his legs. “Come here.”

A grin tugging at the corner of his lips, Sebastian slipped into place. Still on the blanket, he lied on his back with his head in Garrett’s lap.

Both men released separate sighs.

The movement was as natural as slipping on an old cloak, frayed at the edges, yet sentimental. It was a staple of their outings, including the last one before Sebastian’s forced coronation.

It was also all the further they had gotten, but this time, something was different.

“That doesn’t look very comfortable,” Garrett chuckled at Sebastian’s skewed crown.

As he turned to look at Garrett, the gold moved even further to cover his eye. The other blue orb squinted. “Not particularly.”

“I’ve got it.” Though he removed the circlet with a gentle deft, his fingertips still graced Sebastian’s temples. His own eyes went wide as Sebastian’s closed comfortably.

Emboldened, he tossed the crown into the tall grass and hurried back to Sebastian’s roots, baby hairs curling in the spring humidity. Garrett combed a few back with callused fingers in silent wonder.

Sebastian folded his hands on his chest and nuzzled in.

In any other circumstances, the setting would have added lovely ambiance. However, Garrett could stand none of it over the beating of his heart.

He counted the honking waterfowl before them. Though the lake had been clear and glassy, an anxious breeze picked up and whipped its surface. Tickling blades of grass were stirred by the same wind and sent jolts down Garrett’s arms.

Though the bodyguard wanted to remain as still as possible, Garrett could not help but look behind them. The hill barred their field of vision and they from others’ fields, allowing them time to separate when the news came. If swift hooves interrupted Garrett this time too, there was no telling what he would do.

When he repeated the motion a second time, he looked down to see Sebastian peel one shining eye open. Mumbling his apologies, Garrett used both hands to play with his hair until Sebastian settled in once again.

After so long of silence, still, Garrett looked back again.

“No one is going to come,” Sebastian assured him in a hushed voice, afraid of popping their intimate bubble. Garrett felt his fingers leave the other’s hair. “They would require good reason, and I doubt that any could surpass—”

“I know.” In this rosy hour, Garrett did not wish to dwell upon their deaths—moreso Sebastian’s stricken face upon hearing the news. The bodyguard’s lap had been empty for months afterwards.

When he turned around, it was again, but a bit differently. Sebastian sat up close to him, one gentle hand on the other’s knee. The prince’s lips had already been tinted sanguine from the glut of fresh fruits, but his face seemed to burn in the sunset.

Garrett averted his eyes and deflected, “What are we going to do with all this extra time, then?”

“...I was hoping,” Sebastian murmured, Garrett watching the Vael prince’s hand tighten on Garrett’s pant leg, “that we could do this.”

Through his lashes, Garrett only noticed Sebastian leaning forward. Though it would have been obvious to Bethany and others, Garrett’s eyes went wide as Sebastian pressed his lips to Garrett’s.

He shot back out of pure shock, causing Sebastian to stumble. His face began to fall as it had that day. “Did I—”

Garrett shoved his hands on either side of Sebastian’s cheeks, pleasantly warm under his palms. Sebastian’s blue eyes swallowed the color of the sky and blinked in anticipation.

Garrett surged forward.

In his haste, some noses collided and teeth chattered, but Sebastian was a quick learner. Perhaps he had never forgotten. The sweet wine on their lips certainly emboldened them both.

Garrett felt his prince wrap his arms about his retainer—or, with Garrett’s broad chest, at least trying his best. Yielding one hand, Garrett set it on Sebastian’s hip to pull him closer.

By the time they breached for air, they were practically on top of each other.

“Wow,” Sebastian sighed. Garrett’s beard had irritated his cheeks further, so Garrett ran a gentle finger across his jaw in commiseration. “If I had known you could kiss like that the entire time, perhaps we would have sooner.”

His finger stopped in place.

There must have been something in his eyes, for Sebastian wrapped a hand around his wrist. “Garrett? Would you have liked that?”

“...Perhaps.” The Fereldan stared at a positively fascinating spot on the ground. This time, he was the one who had lost the ability to quip.

Then, Sebastian took Garrett’s hand into his own. “For how long now?”

“Just a little bit.” Mouth dry, Garrett let Sebastian tighten his grip. He could not even form sentences now.

Grabbing Garrett by the chin meant he was forced to look into the prince’s eyes, now pools of sadness. “So, the whole time, then.”

Perhaps Sebastian was not so innocent after all.

Garrett nodded.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Sebastian let go of the other man as he exploded. “I can’t believe what I’ve put you through— with what I’ve forced you to see with those feelings in your heart!”

“Calm down.” As Sebastian’s voice began to carry across the meadow, Garrett cradled the back of his head. He pulled them closer together once more. “It’s not your fault, Sebastian.”

“Yes, it is! No one forced me to do it.” Sebastian went to remove Garrett’s arm, but leaning back into the small comfort, found himself unable to.

“They kind of literally did force you out of the palace,” Garrett corrected him. With every last derisive glare, they did. “You just eventually found hobbies with me instead.”

“ _Eventually_! Therein lies the problem.” The prince took a deep, shuddering breath. “I’m so sorry, Garrett. I truly am. I hope you don’t remember more pubcrawlers than I do.”

“You don’t remember them, so they don’t matter now.” He was not sure if he remembered more or less than Sebastian. He had never been… present, but Sebastian always disappeared drunk. It mattered not. His voice but a whisper, Garrett stroked the back of Sebastian’s head.

Sebastian leaned back fully, almost melting. “They hardly mattered back then. Or I did not to them.”

Whatever Garrett interjected with would be too light for the situation, so he stayed in a silent embrace as Sebastian continued.

“I mean, my regards for them were base and hollow, so I should have expected the same in return,” he mumbled. “It is only natural. But somehow, it still hurt when they cast me aside at the end of the night.”

Even the waterfowl grew quiet for a few frantic heartbeats. Garrett raised an eyebrow.

Sebastian huffed, so soft as to be missed, “I think I always felt the same, but I was terrified of that happening with you.”

Garrett rubbed Sebastian’s back.

“Well, ideally, both sides of a relationship—mental and physical—coincide. Separating them is like cutting off a limb. Together is when they’re at their most functional, special even.” Garrett blinked at the fact that he was dictating love philosophy. Love—is that what they were in? “But you didn’t have the best examples of relationships to begin with, so it’s not your fault.”

“I suppose you are right, as always.” Sebastian released a long-held sigh that rattled Garrett’s hand on his back. “You have to be, for no one has ever kissed me like that.”

Garrett furrowed his brows. “That’s where you’re wrong.”

“Hm?” Sebastian blinked.

“Stand up.”

And so Sebastian did, though his brow still furled in confusion. When Garrett took a knee, his sky blue eyes began to flash with reminiscence.

The bodyguard lifted Sebastian’s hand by the wrist. As he had done after swearing his oaths, and then again whenever the situation would allow, just to have a second of contact with his prince, Garrett pressed a gentle kiss to Sebastian’s knuckles. An intense stare rose up from under his lashes.

“The whole time,” Sebastian repeated, curling his fingers to meet Garrett’s. His face matched the blooming red sky behind them. “I should have known.”

Garrett let his hand drop without another word.

“Even though they meant it as a cruel jape,” the prince murmured, bringing his knuckles up to rest against lips, “my parents gave me their first kindness in picking you.”

“I didn’t care what they thought.” Garrett stood slowly, as if honey had been poured over his shoulders. “I was your man before I was ever your family’s.”

Garrett held onto Sebastian’s arm as the good prince said, “I knew that much. For that, I thank you.”

From there, on the blanket, Sebastian curled up on Garrett’s chest purposefully. Hours of sweet nothings filled their ears like birdsong in the morning—perhaps which they would spend together more often. After all, the men stationed in front of Sebastian’s bedchambers were under Garrett’s command.

For now, twilight was upon them as they picked up the remnants of their picnic.

“One of these days, we should make camp and stargaze,” Garrett suggested, the loudest sentence since before the kiss. He knew from his days in Lothering that the sights from the city paled in comparison.

“We will find the time,” Sebastian promised. He also always kept his promises. “We have an abundance of it now.”

Their horses had not strayed, as predicted. Even if they had, Garrett’s heart beat fast enough to be able to carry Sebastian the entire way home.

They mounted at the last light of day. Each departure became harder than the last, but this time, it was Sebastian’s own palace, and the Hawkes were waiting for him.

The breeze sighed through the trees as the two men did. Halfway across the plain, Garrett saw Sebastian’s gleaming white horse stop in his tracks. “Garrett!”

“What is it, Sebastian?” he inquired.

“We forgot my crown!”

The royal and his retainer stared at each other, dumbfounded. By the light of a bluish moon, a laugh buzzed at the back of Garrett’s lips. He leaned to one side and began to guffaw.

“This is no laughing— m—” Sebastian managed before his face broke too. Wiping tears of mirth from the corner of his eyes, he shouted, “Come on!”

Garrett turned his horse and galloped behind Sebastian, back to the lake. Both men’s laughter rolled across the hills and rivaled the loudest owls.

It seemed that Garrett had accomplished his job. 


	2. the years beyond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this has nothing to do with the original prompt; this scene just wouldn't leave my head, and i thought it was cute enough to include. a nice little epilogue for you!

The knock that Leandra had always been expecting came on the door.

“It’s open,” Leandra answered, smiling as she did so.

Sebastian entered the common room. She knew it to be him from his impossibly soft footsteps.

“Leandra,” he greeted, approaching her armchair with his hands folded as if in prayer. The prince had removed his crown, so the fireplace’s blaze reflected in the whites of his eyes instead. “How has this evening treated you?”

“Fair as always.” The smile remained. Sebastian had looked to be lost in thought for the entire dinner. Garrett had tapped his shoulder a few times when it was normally difficult to get the two men to even acknowledge anyone else. “Please sit, and I’ll make you some tea.”

“Oh, I will only take a second of your time. At least, I hope so.” The last part was almost lost in a mumble. Still, Sebastian perched in the armchair across from Leandra, where he first opened up to her about his family all those years before. Well, if they could even be called such a thing.

Leandra nodded a wise head. “If you insist, son. Is there something on your mind?”

“...Funny you should ask that,” the Vael prince huffed. He did not so much as chuckle. “I…”

A long moment passed. Leandra leaned forward, and Sebastian pressed himself back into the plush chair.

He began fiddling with the hairs at his temples, indented from his crown. “That is to say, I…”

The matriarch cocked her head.

“I only mean that I would l—” Sebastian managed out before choking on air. His face burned red from more than the crackling fire.

Leandra said simply, “You would like to marry my son.”

The prince gaped like a fish.

“...Is it so terribly obvious?” Now Sebastian laughed, scratching at the back of his neck. His lips stretched in a thin, giddy smile. She caught a glimpse into his childhood, if only they had let him be one.

“Perhaps, but only to those that matter the most,” Leandra giggled herself. Settling in, she closed the book in her lap. “Why do you come to me with this information?”

Sebastian blinked owlishly. “Well, I was not quite sure who to ask for permission, but I did not want you to be surprised.”

She raised an eyebrow.

Instead of saying the obvious, Leandra continued, “I doubt the Prince of Starkhaven requires much permission.”

“Well,” Sebastian shifted in his seat, “therein lies the problem.”

“Have you thought about such matters?” she asked over her cup of tea.

He eventually sat straight and cleared his throat. His answer came clearly rehearsed. “Well, you come from Kirkwall nobles. That certainly helps bolster his status, as well as a possible alliance.”

“Would the rest of the Free Marches resent such an alliance?” The wheels in her own head began to turn.

“I considered the possibility, but it would just be symbolic, so any backlash is unlikely.” Sebastian fiddled with his ring finger. “If anything, more would find it pleasing, since Kirkwall’s Harimanns planned to marry into the family for power alone.”

Leandra leaned over and patted Sebastian’s arm. “I’m glad it takes more than an assassination to win my sons’ hearts.” After breaking for laughter, she continued, “What of these cousins of yours?”

“Besides poor Goran, I am grateful for them,” Sebastian admitted. “I could never repopulate the numbers of the main Vael family even if I… desired to.”

“Of course not. That would take generations,” the other nodded along. “But how do you choose which branch gets the succession?”

“By that logic, whichever line is the most populated. They will likely be the most popular too,” he shrugged.

Leandra sipped before speaking again. “Would you take one of their children as your own?”

“...I would like that, yes.” Folding his hands in his lap, Sebastian averted his azure eyes.

“I think once you two get started, it’ll be difficult for you to stop,” Leandra laughed and set down her tea. “That is more than alright. I’ve always wanted many grandchildren.”

Face heating up once more, Sebastian glanced up through his lashes. “This conversation is both easier and harder than I pictured it to be.”

How many nights had he agonized over it, though her answer would never be less than a resounding yes? She knew him well.

“Oh, these are questions that others will labor over, not myself.” Reaching to Sebastian’s lap, she gently unfolded his hands. “I’ve never doubted how much you love my son.”

If he was red before, he matched the fabric of the crimson plush armchairs after. Still, Sebastian gripped her fingers gratefully and mumbled, “...I never have, either.”

“Then, have you thought about the fun things? The small details just for you?” Leandra inquired, tilting her head with a smile.

“There is one thing.” A familiar spark returned to Sebastian’s eyes. “My family’s rings.”

The matriarch’s brows furrowed in confusion for a moment. “Well, that’s hardly personal, son. That’s to be expected in a proposal.”

“Exactly,” Sebastian answered speedily, almost jumping up and down in his seat. “That is why I want to melt them down into a new design including Amell symbols.”

Now, Leandra’s eyes went wide.

“Oh, Sebastian, you don’t have to do that,” she sighed, holding both of his hands. “Especially since none after you two will have Amell blood.”

“Blood isn’t everything,” the prince insisted. “If I may be selfish just this once, then creating new rings for Garrett would make me very happy.”

Setting her book aside, Leandra crossed the short distance to gift Sebastian a bone-crushing hug. “Then, it makes me happy to hear you say such things.”

After the youngest and only Vael released a deep sigh, she let the embrace go on for as long as he needed. Leandra hummed and rubbed his back as she would have with the twins. Even when Sebastian pulled back, he was only a hair’s breadth away. “I would love to ask Bethany to design the rings. Do you think she would accept?”

“Oh, I suspect that she can answer for herself.” Leandra raised an eyebrow and leaned her head towards the wall.

For what seemed like a century, awkward silence amplified the crackling of the fire.

Then, one of the bedroom doors creaked, and Carver’s voice came. “Hey, he asked you a question.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that's it, thanks for reading! comments/kudos are always appreciated!


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